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GEORGE TOWN, Feb 23 ― The electrical cables at KM3.2 of the first Penang Bridge caught fire again this morning, after a similar incident yesterday.
The Penang Fire and Rescue Department received a call at 9.17am and several teams were sent to the site on the bridge and by boat.
The Perai Fire and Rescue Department Station chief Azrul Khairi Abu Bakar said a small fire broke out on the same electrical cables underneath the bridge that caught fire yesterday.
He said it could be residue sparks from yesterday’s fire and that investigations were ongoing.
“Today, we managed to put it out entirely at about 12pm and now we are monitoring the site to make sure there was no spark for it to light up again,” he said.
He said the department’s personnel on two boats are observing the situation under the bridge while there are three rescue vehicles stationed on the bridge.
This morning, the operation to put out the fire involved teams from Bandar Perda, Paya Terubong and several other agencies.
Yesterday, a fire broke out on the same site at about 4.23pm causing a massive gridlock on the bridge as the lanes had to be closed for fire rescue works.
The bridge was reopened to traffic around 9.30pm last night.
In a statement last night, Tenaga Nasional Berhad confirmed the fire at KM3.2 of the Penang Bridge involved a 132kV cable from the Main Entrance Substation (PMU) in Bukit Tengah to Bayan Mutiara.
The cause of the initial fire is still under investigation.